The rebranding announcement has had mixed responses among IT professionals so far. Some feel that the effort does make a lot of sense, as the Skype for Business platform has often been confused with the consumer-based platform, while others have met the change with a bit of apprehension.

We understand you may have some questions about this switch. Here’s what you need to know about Skype for Business and the new Microsoft Teams.

For Now, You Can Opt In

According to an Ignite FAQ posted by a Microsoft employee on their blog, Microsoft is taking Skype for Business capabilities and integrating them into Microsoft Teams to create a single client, collaborative environment.

It’s important to note that Skype for Business will not be turned off overnight, and that nobody will be forced into Microsoft Teams at this time — however those heavy users of Office 365 may want to become comfortable with transitioning to Teams the app will be gaining the features Skype for Business offers over time.

According to Tony Redmond’s article, this new version of Microsoft Teams “would include all the personal chat functionality now available in the full Teams client (IM video, and voice) and run on the new Skype backend.”

The full Microsoft Teams client will continue as it is now, and you can already schedule online meetings with Teams through Outlook just as you can with Skype for Business, so no functionality is lost in this sense.

The New Microsoft Teams Features

The transition will make Microsoft Teams the core communication platform for enterprise. Microsoft has been building a new Skype infrastructure that will be the enterprise-grade solution for video, voice and meetings in Microsoft Teams. New innovations Microsoft announced for Teams includes:

Basic calling features including call transfer, hold, speed dial and voicemail, as well as inbound and outbound calls to PTSN numbers.

The Future of Skype for Business

Current Office 365 users can take advantage of Microsoft Teams immediately and will be able to see upcoming Teams features will be available on the Office 365 Roadmap.

Microsoft also announced it plans to continue support for Skype for Business service and client and will release a new Skype for Business server in 2018. Currently, Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business clients can be run side by side.